HOLIDAY | Mary Kay Gift Sets and Holiday Fun

Something I have been doing a lot of this year is going through my blog posts and Instagram stories at the beginning of the pandemic to see what I was thinking and my state of mind. I have also been going through blog posts from this time last year when Christmas was "as per normal" and man was I A LOT more stressed! Living the full retail holiday life, balancing dinners and outings had me really exhausted and as terrible as this year has been, this has also been the LEAST stressed I have been in probably over 10 years and it has felt FANTASTIC to let my brain veg and to not give a flying f*** about clients who come at you and forget that the pandemic has changed EVERYTHING. Still, it has been a relatively busy month and as much as I have wanted to blog more, I have been taking my nights and days off very slow and easy which is part of the reason why this Mary Kay post is coming a little later than I would like, but the items were too cute not to share with you all!

Mary Kay Holiday Gift Sets
Press samples

Hand Cream and Lip Balm Set in Berry Parfait, Coconut Mousse and Citrus Sorbet
Mary Kay Holiday Gift Sets

I have never been big on wrapping gifts as I hate the fact that wrapping paper, ribbons and bows are not recyclable so I love when something already comes ready to present to the recipient AND it's recyclable. These hand cream and lip balm duos are perfectly festive and ready to gift with three delicious scents that aren't overly sweet, but still feel like a treat to apply. My favourite scents were the Citrus Sorbet and surprisingly the Coconut Mousse as I don't usually like artificial coconut scents, but this was nice and subtle. 

Mary Kay Holiday Gift Sets

The Mary Kay hand creams are non-greasy and I use them all the time at work so I don't muck up my keyboard and the lip balms have a mineral oil and petroleum base so they are similar to the consistency of Vaseline. In the pre-Covid days of no face mask, I would only opt for this type of consistency when I had flaky or dry lips, but now I always wear thicker lip balms underneath my mask at work because my lips peel like crazy whenever I wear a face mask for longer than 4 hours. I think the microenvironment created within the mask has had some interesting side effects.

Mary Kay Holiday Gift Sets

Mad About Masking Mask Pod Gift Set
Mary Kay Holiday Gift Sets

Ack, I am super annoyed that I cannot locate the rest of my photos for what I think is an adorable masking set for anyone who loves a night in of self-care! This set contains four of those square one-use pods that can be used to multi-mask or on their own. You've got "Miss Pore-fect" which is a clarifying and oil-absorbing clay mask, "Energy Queen", an uplifting clay mask featuring Japanese Green Tea extract, "Lady Serenity", a soothing cream mask with panthenol and aloe vera and "Dewy Gal", a glow-inducing gel mask containing hyaluronic acid and vitamin E. The only thing I don't really like about this set is the price at $30 which I think is a bit high. I think you could probably squeeze two uses out of each pod, but still I feel like this set should have been half the price.

Mary Kay Holiday Gift Sets

Mary Kay's Satin Hands line has long been one of my favourites so whether it's a hand cream, scrub or soap, I love it all and like many of you, I'm sure you have been going through hand cream like crazy! When we run out, we opt for one of the many MANY body washes I have so as we were about to run out, this Shea Hand Soap arrived and it was perfect timing!

We can never forget about the men and honestly, I quite like the scent of both of these body washes! These body washes can be used for both hair and body, but honestly I like having separate products for the two areas as does my husband. He prefers using a targeted shampoo for his hair and then a separate body wash.

Mary Kay Holiday Gift Sets

On to the makeup! First we have the Mini Essential Brush Set with three of the most used eyeshadow brushes with synthetic bristles all packed into a little pouch perfect for a makeup bag or purse. The fact that it's pink also adds to its cuteness and is something I plan on giving to the teenage daughter of a co-worker of mine who is just getting started in the world of makeup. 

Next we have the Iconic Lip Vault which is a trio of Gel Semi-Matte Lipsticks in three classic shades all in a pretty reusable tin! The lipstick formula is super smooth to apply and is quite pigmented. I wish I could wear these lipsticks now, but they aren't resistant to the friction the occurs with mask-wearing so I will also be gifting this set to someone who is perhaps working from home! 

Mary Kay Holiday Gift Sets

Finally, we have Blending Sponge Set all in an ornament which I have thought was always a genius idea when it comes to holiday makeup packaging! It's cute and doubles as something to hang on the tree! The sponges are pretty small so they are intended for blending smaller areas of the face like under the eyes. I usually use my regular sized Juno & Co. sponge so I am not sure if I would really use sponges of these sizes all that much. Still, it's a cute gift and one that will make any beauty lover smile.

Mary Kay Holiday Gift Sets

I hope everyone is having as wonderful of a holiday as they can have with their "bubble"! It will just be my husband and I with his family (on video chat) so we have ring lights and a special place at the table for the laptop tomorrow so they can see our Christmas meal! 

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